The Opelousas courier., 1887-10-08

New ORLEANS. Sept. 25, 1884.
Hon. Lionel Adams, Chairman Executive Com
My Dear Sir-Your letter, written in behalf
of your committee, was received this noon.
Acting under your suggestion that IN
view of the fact that Saturday tomorrow
of this week is fixed as the time for the cleo
ton of delegates to the Democratic nominal;
ing convention of the First Congressional
District, yon beg the favor OF an immediate
reply, | answer at once.
1t is now evident from your present note,
that the real purpose of your invitation to a
conference was not fully disclosed In your
letter of the Sth instant.
might have the opportunity, to dlspel I'M
founded ap~prehensions" and reileve your
selves of the false light" in which the re-
ton on the 9th instant, had placed you, and
to accept ''any PLAN devised by us falr
and practicable" 1t o appears that you
had really in view the purpose to invite us
into contest at primaries ordered by your
We have assured you in our reply of the
Esd instant. that we were thoroughly az
in the First Congressional District" In the
face. therefore, of your silence upon this
very frank and direct statement, may we not
repeat what we there said " believe that
the public, with ourselves, hold it useless and
a vain thing altogether and unadvisable" to
enter with you into your primaries, fixed by
yourselves for an early day Tomorrow morn
ing), under the rules and regulation OF q
parish committee, whose torn OF office, ac-
cording to all usage, has long since expired,
and which. since the assembling of the NOM
mating convention in 1880, has not. re-
turned to the people for a renewal OF It's
power or authority.
You offer ''to set aside party usages to the
extent of securing the appointment to each
ward of the judge and one-half OF the COM
m 1naisns5sRiag . OF ta eHtend '9tba ti@ oar fI TedG for
the holding of the election" unm1ndful' "
is respectfully submitted, that in a part OF
the district delegates have been already an
nounced as selected and accredlted, and OF
the claims of others whom the daily papers
announce interested in the contest PROVOKED
by your own resolution.
Under these circumstances the suggestlon
in your letter that your committee speak
advisedlyn and promise mo more than they
can fulfill" creates no surprise with Us. ltls
against that assumption of authority, when
exercised by a "eomDsratlveiy rev pe Is ! H. a
Democracy of the district protests.
We are not without o knowledge OF the
authority delegated to committees OF politl-
cal organizations; but when the du6ies 52r
charged and the members OF the!r, own, or
ganization, the creators Of committees, have
been summoned to express their Will, no
aside. 1t is now for your people about to as
sembie in convention to act in the present ex-
igency as they consider most patriotic.
In the name of that fealty" which we &C
peal to the people for their support, and we
do not fear that we appeal in vain.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
W.. H.. ROGERS,
Chairman Executive Committee.
So long as there remained 8 possibility of
inducing the gentlemen to meet our sub
committee in conference, we have scrupu-
lousy avoided entering upon any discussion
r1h5n1 roJuht fnn6 tn DIHPn npw ffttHnIIInQ IN
the way of an arrangement.
We do not, however, propose to return to
your keeping the trust contided to our care
without d~enouncing as calumnious and TN
founded the charges heaped upon us. We
decline to pass unnotlced the declaration
that the course of these blatant reformefs
was justified by the faithlessness and venallty
of your party managers.
We assert that we're Mr.. Hunt inclined to
regard the express will of the people and the
party success as being paramount to the aspl-
rations of the iAdivldSal, the present unfor;
tunate divisions wouI already have ceased
In the letter which we are expected to be-
lieve was written By Mr.. Kernochan, it is en-
deavered to read this committee 3 lesson IN
prepriety. Che assertion is made that 1t was
an indeficateAct upo 9our part to make pub
lie the motives which induced us to address
the reform Democracy" and we are wisely
ences will not be readily accomplished by a
discussion in the newspapers Have we not
thea a perfect right to assume, applying this
declaration to his own conduct, that by fur
publication in the Picaytne, before the orig
inal had been delivered to it's address, MIR.
Kernochan sought a public discussion in
order to render more difficult an adjustment
of difference? May we not also, with per-
feet propriety, venture to ask how our sec
ond note, sent under private cover, found 1fs
w@y into print, and why, the letter-press
COPY of the letter which closed the CORE
spondenee should, without our permission,
have been furnished for publication?
1t is intimated that IN our hrst
cation we sought 70 conceal our true purpose
which was afterWard disclosed.
We are unable to discover upon what pre-
tense this assertion is founded. Do not both
letters convey in TIE most u~nmistakable
terms 8 readiness and an anxiety. to heal a
Breach, to unite the Democracy of the dis
trict, and to submit the pretensions OF Mr..
Hunt to the arbitration of the people? Can
we advance @ more complete proof OF the
fairness, or Of its recognition OF the soyer,
eighty of the people. than lies In the method
which we have proposed for ascertalning the
will OF that constituency which we repre-
sented? Does the offer to submit the claims
of rival candidates for a, party nomination
directly to the people who constitute that
party evidence q disposition upon the part OF
comparatively few persons TO determine
conclusions for the people, /" Or a design to
choose for the people without their con-
sent? ~
Is it not a fact that although more than
twenty days ago MIR. Hunt signified his &C.
ceptance of the nomination rendered by the
Masonic Hall Democracy, yet on the 3 of
September the appointment by, Mr.; herno-
chan of an executive committee had nos
been notified to the public? Is it not within
the knowledge of every representative upon
this floor that up to this tim no canvas IN
the interest of Mr. Hunt has been ~inaugura.
ted. nor haye appointments been made for
those meetings at which that gentJeman's
nVDrD1Sa fn rpnHpr an account tn the ppnDlp
of the district is to be kept?
We announce that since the return of Mr..
Hunt never has an lntlmation been received
by this committee, either from himself or his
friends, that an early call of the nominating
convention was considered desirable.
What, then, becomes of their %pretense that
yyonr party managers have been guilty OF in
right to summon thep people" have been silent
at a time when they were required to speak7
Our committee the only political organlza-
party with the conduct Of the concessions
election, within the First District, tbeld its
authority under appointment by, the eonyen-
ton of 1882, which nominatrd, Mr.. Hunt.
We have never sought to encrOach upon the
prerogatiyes of the people, nor to oppose the
exercise of their authority to select represen-
t44ives anew for the conduct of each election.
At the very time that the accusation against
orr committee of plotting to have its organi-
zatiQn kept away from renewals by cleo
tlonHsby the people" was, in MIR. Kernocban's
letter, autboritatlyely renewed, We had al
ready issued q public call, ordering the hold
ing of this convention, whose province it will
be to provide for the appointment OF our sue
cessors.
Have not the Democratic people of this
district been furnished an opportunity to
choose for themselves, and is not your pres
eiice here conclusive of the fact that they
have exercised that right? How meanly
false then is the imputstion that it was posi-
BILE to select the nominee of this convention
in advance of your election as its members
Who is there to pretend that you have not,
after q free eli tion and q fair count, been
vested with authority to voice the sovereign
will Of your fellow-D Democrats IN the First
Congressional District Whence will now
come the insinuation that improper intiu-
ences have been used IN the endeayor to con-
troll your suffrages? To which one of Won csn